Danica Patrick will be a special guest moderator for Senator Vance’s town hall in North Carolina on Thursday, the Trump campaign says. The racing superstar’s foray into national politics may be a sign that President Trump and Mr. Vance are trying to juice their support among women, an area where they have been sorely failing, and from those North Carolinians who enjoy Nascar. 

Mr. Vance will travel to Greensboro, North Carolina, on Thursday to hold a town hall event with voters, where he is expected to answer questions from the crowd and discuss his and Trump’s plans to make life easier for the American people. It is Ms. Patrick’s first time appearing with a member of the Republican ticket after she endorsed them just a few weeks ago. 

Ms. Patrick made clear in 2023 that she was a Republican after attending Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest event and writing on Instagram that she wanted to “Make America Great Again,” though she endorsed an independent candidate, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., earlier this year before Mr. Kennedy dropped his bid and endorsed Trump in August. She soon followed suit and announced her support for Trump as well. 

She explained her decision to support Trump at a recent dinner in Indiana. 

At the Hamilton County Republicans’ annual fall dinner earlier this month, Ms. Patrick explained why she would be voting for Trump and Mr. Vance. “I think that Trump did a really good job of letting us know that there is such a thing as fake news,” she said. “The person that runs this country should ultimately be running it very much like a business. I can’t really think of a better businessman than Donald Trump.”

Ms. Patrick is a historical figure in American racing. She is the only woman to have ever won an IndyCar Series race after claiming her title at the Indy Japan 300 race back in 2008. She retired from racing in 2018, though she still works as a commentator and writer about the sport. 

Mr. Vance’s appearance alongside the champion may be a play for more women voters in the state, along with fans of professional racing. Women actually make up more, percentage-wise, of Nascar’s viewership than other major league sports like basketball, baseball, and hockey. Only the National Football League enjoys a higher share of women fans than professional motorcar racing, according to a YouGov poll from March. 

The real problem for the Trump-Vance ticket, though, has been women. They are facing historic deficits with women voters while failing to open up a wide enough gap with men to either tie or take the lead in national polls. 

According to a recent survey from the New York Times and Siena College, Vice President Harris leads Trump among women voters by a 16 points — which is five points higher than President Biden’s 2020 margin of victory with women. If that number holds, it would be the largest margin of victory for a Democrat among women voters since President Clinton’s re-election in 1996. 

Mr. Vance is expected to discuss issues like immigration, inflation, the cost of living, and the lack of affordable housing during his visit to North Carolina. In a statement released Wednesday, the Trump-Vance campaign made clear that bread-and-butter issues will be their focus as the campaign comes to an end.  

“While Kamala Harris continues to ignore these critical issues, President Donald J. Trump has a proven track record of putting North Carolinians first,” the campaign says. “President Trump understands the importance of lowering taxes, securing the border, and stopping the unchecked flow of illegal immigration that drains resources from American citizens.”